And The Crosses Broke
How I became a Muslim
From Riyaas Peter to Abdullaah
PART 3 – Final
And Finally I Found The Truth
In the same days I found out about another Islamic Centre by the name of Jaamia tul-Ehsaan, so I phoned them and told them I was researching Islaam and I would like to come and speak to you and the person on the phone said you can come at any time you want.
The next day I went and found the office to be very simple and there was a Maulana sitting with an orange beard. I said my name is Riyaas Peter and I am a Christian and I am researching into Islaam and I was the one who phoned you yesterday. The Maulana was very happy and very joyful and shook my hand with great firmness and jovially and said my name is Qaaree khaleel ur-Rehmaan Javed and I am the one in charge of this centre and I am very happy to meet you and whatever you want to ask about Islaam please ask without any hesitation and so I started.
Question: The Christians believe Jesus is the son of God because he was born without a father, what do you have to say about this.
Answer: Eesaa (Alayhis-Salaam) is a Prophet of Allaah and he created him with his power without a father as Allaah is the all powerful and the creator just as Allaah created Adam (Alayhis-Salaam) without a father or mother. So if the Christians say Eesaa is the son of God because he was born without a father then what will you say about Adam who was born without a father or mother?
Question: The Christians believe Jesus was crucified because he gave his life for the sins of the people, what does Islaam think of this?
Answer: Eesaa (Alayhis-Salaam) was not crucified rather Allaah raised him up whilst he was alive and Allaah made someone appear to look like Eesaa and it was he who was crucified and this is what is written in the Quraan
Question: Do the Muslims believe in the Holy book of Christians ie the bible?
Answer: It is compulsory for every Muslim to believe in the Taurah, The Psalms of David, and the Bible.
Question: The Bible in different times has been subject to change as the same happened to the Quraan.
Answer: Allaah himself has taken the task of preserving the Quraan no alterations have ever been done nor can anyone do any such thing. From the time of revelation till this day every single word of the Quraan is preserved. The Quraan is from the books that is memorised by millions of Muslims so Allaah has preserved it in the heart of the Muslims so then how can it be changed and this is a sign of Islaam being a True Religion.
Question: The Christians believe if you confess to your sins to the father he can get your sins forgiven so the Muslims have a similar concept.
Answer: Only Allaah has the right to forgive peoples sins and no one from even the biggest scholar or religious leader can get your sins to be forgiven.
Question: Was Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) the Prophet after Eesaa (Alayhis-Salaam) and if so what did he order the people with?
Answer: Yes Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) is the final Prophet which is mentioned in all of the Heavenly books he told us, “Oh people worship Allaah and Allaah is one and he has no partner he is not anyone’s father nor is he anyone’s son and I Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) am his final Messenger. So worship Allaah alone and abandon idol worship and he also told mankind about humanity. So alcohol was declared to be unlawful, prohibited fornication, ordered us to respect parents and encouraged brotherhood.
Question: The Muslims have many different sects, which one is correct and follows true Islaam and those who do how do we recognise them and what has Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) said about sects?
Answer: The Messenger of Allaah (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) prohibited the making of sects and he said do not divide into sects after me however this did happen and those who are correct from amongst them are those who accept the Quraan and Hadeeth and they act upon this and they do not follow personalities. So this what we follow and this is what we say to the people.
Question: There is a muslim sect that says that Muhammad is a part of Allaah ie that Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) is nor ie light so is he also nor according to you.
Answer: Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) is Allaah’s slave and messenger and he was a man Allaah is one and without any partner and those who associate partners with him commit an act of disbelief and therefore saying the Messenger of Allaah is noor is totally wrong.
For the length of time I remained with Qaaree Jawed he answered all of my questions from the Quraan and Hadeeth and he answered my questions with great love and care. All of the other scholars who were also present there also met me with great love and respect as if I was one of their own. I never saw anyone praising people they just were all normal and very respectful towards each other. I asked their leave and went home and upon leaving Qaaree Jawed said if you need to know anything about Islaam then you can come at anytime.
Today I was feeling so much peace and tranquillity whatever I wanted to find I had found it as if I had found the truth and my heart testified that this is the true religion. So now I decided to make the proper comparison between Christianity and Islaam. The first point that came to my mind was the birth of Jesus Christ ie he was born without a father but how about Adam he was born without any parents, so if the Christians think Jesus should be the son of God what should be do about Adam.
Further more we believe Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and we do not accept Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) whereas the Muslims believe In Eesaa (Alayhis salaam) as a prophet of Allaah and say Eesaa was not crucified. We change the bible everyday but it would still remain the word of God but on the contrary a single change has not happened in the Quraan to this day. The Christians to this day have never ever memorised the bible whereas the Muslims are always memorising the Quraan.
Our religion makes distinctions between differed coloured people and the rich and poor so much so they even have different places of worship. Whereas Islaam is totally different and encourages brotherhood and love between all of us. We make our women as nuns and oppress them however Islaam raises the station of women.
We raise the status of the father above and beyond the position of God and the bible. And believe the father can forgive us of our sins whereas the Muslims say only Allaah has the right to forgive sins. The Muslims only give importance to the Quraan and the ahadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) so after pondering on all of these points the only conclusion I can come to was threat Islaam was the true religion.
So now I started to think if I myself was sinning how would I help forgive other peoples sins. I had spent my whole life sinning how would I achieve salvation. All of these thoughts began working my mind like a storm and a major upheaval in my thought processes and all of this just engulfed me and thought I must seek forgiveness from Allaah and that I should accept Islaam.
After a long search and constantly thinking about Islaam I finally decided to accept Islaam so that I could protect my sinful life from punishment. The words of Jesus Christ began to come into my mind that when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
After Jesus Christ, Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam) came and showed people the way of the truth and he testified he would tell the people what would be conveyed to him from Allaah. I decided to accept Islaam with those people who act on the Quraan and Hadeeth and also encourage others to do also. So I phoned Qaaree Jawed and told him I wanted to accept Islaam. The Qaaree informed me I would have to face many trials and tribulations. I replied I will deal with every difficulty to accept the truth and he replied it is of great pleasure that you want to accept Islaam. So he asked me to come in two days time so that I had a little more time to think.
I waited patiently waiting another 48 hours was just so difficult and painful and every second was just mounting up and I was afraid of the seconds of my sinful life adding up. I just felt so helpless and yet felt this unusual feeling. Then that time had come.
My Acceptance of Islaam
It was Sunday the 16th August 1998, I made my way to Jaametul-Ehsaan and Qaaree Jawed was waiting for me he asked me are you still content with your decision and I replied yes. Qaaree Jawed said to Shaikh Thanullah as you are going to the Jamia in Faisalabaad I would wish that Riyaas accepts Islaam with you. So he began to recite the kalimah
Laa Ilaaha illallah Muhammadur Rasoolullah
There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger.
Upon reading the kalimah I felt the cross broke and also felt as if Eesaa (Alayhis-Salaam) also broke the cross and as if a light had entered my heart and all of my sins had washed away and I had become pure as if I was reborn. Then The Shaikh informed me to worship Allah and not to hold any partners with him and follow the teaching of Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee was-Sallam). Alcohol was forbidden and stay away from those things which were unlawful. The Shaikh then said to me I was like as if I was born again and may Allaah give you steadfastness and you should be called Abdullah and then all of the teachers hugged me and congratulated me in becoming a Muslim. Qaaree Jawed said to me from now on you are our brother and we will share your happiness and your grief and then all of us ate and thereafter I departed.
Meeting My Father After Accepting Islaam
My father was not at home and I was thinking whether I should tell my father about this new change in my life as I had never lied to him before and so decided I must tell him the truth. When my father returned I gathered courage and said to my father, father I have accepted Islaam and I have become a Muslim. Even though he was my father and he had that love for me he became outraged and closed all the doors and windows and said to me slowly peter what have you done? I corrected him and said my name was Abdullah, he replied you are misguided and the Muslims have worked their magic on you, so I explained to him further that it was not the case and I had researched myself and found Islaam to be a true religion and hence accepted it.
He said you are misguided and you have committed a major sin by leaving the religion of your forefathers, you have shamed me and Jesus Christ will never forgive you. You have not done anything majorly bad so there is still time to repent and return to Christianity. I said father I searched for the truth and when I found it I accepted it and father you know Muhammad is the Prophet of Allaah and Jesus gave glad tidings of him and so you should also accept Islaam. Upon saying that it was the first time my father had hit me so bad and warned me that I would have no share of the wealth and all of my luxuries would be taken away. I replied you may do whatever you wish this is my final decision I cannot leave Islaam. He replied the Christian community will decide what we do with you and up until then you cannot leave the house. My father stopped talking to me. I kept on praying to Allaah to help me and to guide my father to the truth.
The Decision Of the Christian Community
A whole week passed and I was finally taken to the church like a criminal and then the president of the Christian community in Pakistan gave read his decision. Fathers son Riyaas Peter has accepted Islaam and left Christianity so we are expelling Riyaas Peter from the Christian community and Christianity and no Christian should or can associate with him and the father should exclude him from his inheritance. Then my father announced what the president had said and also said Riyaas is not my son anymore, he further instructed all he Christians to abandon me and to have no association with me. I replied I can leave everything but I cannot leave Islaam now.
Finally I Was Free
I left the church and had no idea what to do and just walked across into the mosque opposite and prayed to Allaah and asked for his help and assistance that he was my only saviour. Now I only just had Eemaan and nothing else in this whole wide world. I remembered an old friend and spent a few days with him. Later I phoned Qaaree Khaleel ur-Rehman at the Jaamia and told him I wanted to learn the prayer so he put me in contact with Shaikh Dawood and Shaikh Zulfikar. So I went to Jaamia Rehmaaniyyah and all the people met me with great love and affection and the Shaikhs began to teach me. When I read the first prayer in my life I felt as if someone had thrown me into a sea of peace and tranquillity.
Another Test
The following weak I prayed my first jumuah prayer in Jaamia Ehsaan and went to see my friend. When some extremist Christians severely attacked me and they kept on asking me to leave Islaam but how could I leave this great religion after I had just found it after a long time. They continued to beat me and burnt my body with cigarettes and they beat me very bad but my friend eventually saved me. They kept on saying to me that hitting and beating me was a means of reward for them.
After recovering I went to Jaamia Rehmaaniyyah and all of the teachers encouragde me and gave me confidence, they helped me immensely and advised me with patience. They told me of the incidences in the lives of the companions, they told of the incident of Bilaal al-Habashee (Radhiallahu Anhu) that when he would be beaten he would keep on saying One, One ie Allah is one Allah is one. I prayed for the guidance of my friend who had helped me.
Meeting My New Friends
One day I was praying the jumuah prayer in Jaamia Rehmaaniyyah and there was a talk by Shaikh Abdullah Naasir Rehmaani, I noticed his simplicity and I noted that everything he said was said with references to the Quraan and Hadeeth. After the talk it was question and answer time and he answered all of the questions with again references to the Quran and Hadeeth. Later I met Shaikh Abdullah Naasir Rehmaani and was amazed and shocked that such a big scholar and just so simple in nature and personality as he has spent his whole life in spreading Islaam. I gained a lot of inspiration from him and I decided to spend the rest of my life spreading Islaam.
I wanted to take the message to the youth about Islaam and answer the Christian missionaries as they were fooling and lying to the people and also expose their abhorrent actions. I established Markaz al-Furqaan al-Islaami for the propagation of Islaam.
I pray to Allaah the almighty to make me successful and aid me. Ameen
Ahlul hadeeth - The Way Of The Salaf 